The weather had a big hand to play in the style of the match, with exceptionally muddy conditions, wind and rain it became a forwards battle which the black and yellows ultimately won.

It was an exciting day for four Vikings players, as they made their debut starts and none of them disappointed. Excellently three of the four are current seventeen year old Academy Colts, with Tom Stables, Kieran Creber & Tom Bray starting at scrum-half, wing and second-row respectively. The final starting debut was Tom Creed in the back-row who has only been playing rugby for a few months, but he is making a rapid rise in the sport and looks to have a big future in the sport. He capped off his first Vikings start with a try and an excellent man-of-the-match performance, where he carried exceptionally strongly and made multiple massive tackles along with his maiden try. He along with his other debutants showed the great depth which is growing in the Vikings squad and in rugby locally, which we are really pleased about.

The match started at a great pace, as the Vikings chalked up two early tries through Creed and then winger Cam Le Prevost before once again they dropped off the intensity and Holbrook began to get a hand in the match.

Understandably there was a high number of knock-on’s as both sides struggled to keep hold of the Baal which at times resembled a bar of soap. For the second week in a row however the game was forced to go to uncontested scrums due to an injury to a visiting front-row player which certainly did not go in the Vikings favour.

Holbrook scored their first try following some poor defending from the home side 5m from the Vikings line. A clever dummy by the visiting scrum-half allowed him to sneak through a narrow hole and score under the posts.

Holbrook’s second try came in the second half, and this one was one of luck, and once again it came from a Vikings mistake. Once again the Vikings were on their own 5m line, but this time with the ball in possession. The ball was passed out the back of a ruck as they looked to kick clear, however an onrushing Holbrook defender managed to intercept the ball and they dived over.

The Vikings did manage to pick things up and were again playing better rugby, but in the conditions struggled to convert that to points which was not ideal.

The game then had to be stopped with around 20 minutes to play after a very nasty injury to a Holbrook player, which later transpired to be a broken pelvis. We wish him all the best with his recovery.

The result was a narrow win for the Vikings, which was a fair reflection on the game as Holbrook had played their hearts out and were unlucky not to pick up a losing bonus point.

Next week is a MASSIVE game at home against second placed Barns Green. They have only lost once all season which was against the Vikings, and they will be looking to reverse that result this week. 1.30 kick-off, see you there!